Ricky Tims Super Seminar

The January Guild program informed us all of the Ricky Tims Super Seminars. These take place 4 times a year around the U.S. They do not come to Canada, unfortunately (too much hassle at the border with quilts and inventory for sale) but they do try to hold at least one of the Seminars each year within a reasonable driving distance for many Canadians. Five FQG members have already attended RT Seminars. You could be next! (We attended the Seminar in the spring of 2008 in Glens Falls NY. Photos shown here are from the Glens Falls Seminar. You can click on these for a much closer look.)

The Seminar is 2.5 days in length and always follows the same schedule, beginning on a Thursday afternoon and finishing on Saturday at 5:30pm. There are 10 sessions, 6 done by Ricky, and 2 each by Alex Anderson and Libby Lehman. Sessions are 1.5 hours each, broken up by generous "breaks"during which you can shop, get a closeup look at the quilts, or get an autograph or a photo taken with Ricky, Alex or Libby. The sessions are done theatre style - ie you don't have to bring anything other than a pen and your enthusiasm - no sewing machines to carry, no fabric to prepare, etc. You sit back in a comfy chair and listen, watch and learn! All the action takes place on a large stage with a giant screen behind- whatever is being done at a machine or on the cutting table is video'd and projected on the screen so you can see exactly what's happening. Every seat is a good seat! You don't even have to take notes as you are provided with a Syllabus of notes - 125 pages or so, complete with diagrams and color photos. Topics covered by Ricky include: Quilting Caveman Style, Convergence Quilts, Design Development, Flip 'n' Sew and Paper Piecing, Rhapsody Quilts, No Pins Precision Curved Piecing, No Pins Set -in Corners and Circles, Kaleidoscopes, Applique, Machine Quilting, Piped Bindings, Binding the Quilt by Machine, and Scalloped Bindings. Alex Anderson does two sessions on the topics of Hand Quilting and Fabric Selection. Libby Lehman's sessions are on Machine Applique and Sheer Ribbon Illusions. All sessions are enjoyable; info is presented clearly and concisely in a very organized manner, and presenters are happy to answer questions from the audience. There is lots of humour and it is very evident that all presenters are enjoying themselves as much as the audience is!

During the breaks, you can wander throught the quilt displays and see the quilts "up close and personal". You can shop at Ricky's booth for his books, DVD's, CD's, hand-dyed fabrics and notions that he likes and uses. You can get autographs and/or have your photo taken with Ricky, Libby and/or Alex. Because Bernina is a major Seminar sponsor, there is a local quilt shop/Bernina dealer booth where one can purchase Bernina machines, accessories and fabrics, threads, etc. (We counted over 100 machines sold, including one to a 101 year old quilter in attendance!!)

Besides being an amazing quilter and teacher, Ricky is also an incredibly talented musician, and puts on a wonderful concert on Friday evening, showing off his talents for playing a number of instruments. (This concert is open to the public, so if you are travelling with your husband or someone else, they can purchase a ticket for this concert.)

The next Super Seminar that is close to us will be held in Hyannis, Cape Cod, Mass. on September 2-4, 2010. FQG will be a promotional partner, meaning simply that we have agreed to help advertise this event. We will be placing more info on this Blog later on, and in our April newsletter. FQG members will also be receiving several emails in the spring. If you would like more info now, check out Ricky's website by clicking here or go to www.rickytims.com/ and click on "Quilt Pages", then "Seminars". If you think you'd like to attend this Seminar, you will notice that the cost is less if you have a group. If you register singly, the cost is $219.00 US funds. If there is a group of 2-9 people, you save $25.00 and pay $194.00 US each. A group of 10 or more pays $179.00 each. So let us know if you are interested in going; we will be taking names to do a group registration. Leave a comment here or contact Linda at (506) 455-1825. This is open to any quilters in our area, not only FQG members. Stay tuned for more info on our next post...